Electrically operated window lifting mechanism

ABSTRACT

A mechanism for lifting a window of an automotive vehicle has a base plate integrally diecast from zinc alloy with a housing for an electric motor and a speed-reducing transmission and having apertured fastening lugs by means of which it may be fastened to the door of an automotive vehicle. The window lifting arm of the mechanism is pivotally mounted on the base plate, and a motion transmitting train including the output pinion of the transmission and a segment gear pivots the arm when the motor is operated.

United States Patent Dehler Dec. 3, 1974 [54] ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WINDOW 3,455.l74 7/l969 Pickles .1 74/606 LIFTING MECHANISM 3,550,474 1 H1968 Maurice et al...

3,672,440 6/1972 Miura et al. l64/l I3 Bernhard Dehler, Coburg, Germany Metallwerk Max Brose & Co., Coburg, Germany Filed: June 14, 1973 Appl. No.: 370,045

Related U.S. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 260,628, June 7, 1972, Pat. No. 3,783,702.

Inventor:

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data June 28, 1971 Germany 2132067 U.S. Cl. 74/89, 74/600 Int. Cl F16h 27/02 Field of Search 74/89, 625, 600; 49/349;

Primary E.raminerWesley S. Ratliff, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmHans Berman; Kurt Kelman ABSTRACT A mechanism for lifting a window of an automotive vehicle has a base plate integrally diecast from zinc alloy with a housing for an electric motor and a speedreducing transmission and having apertured fastening lugs by means of which it may be fastened to the door of an automotive vehicle. The window lifting arm of the mechanism is pivotally mounted on the base plate, and a motion transmitting train including the output pinion of the transmission and a segment gear pivots the arm when the motor is operated.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTL EZC 31974 summm ELECTRICALLY OPERATED WINDOW LIFTING MECHANISM This application is a continuation-in-part of the copending application Ser. No. 260,628, filed on June 7, 1972, and now Pat. No. 3,783,702.

This invention relates to a window lifting mechanism for automotive vehicles, and particularly to an improvement in the mechanism disclosed and claimed in the afore-mentioned copending application.

The reliability and period of maintenance-free operation of the earlier invention was enhanced by mounting the casings of the electric drive motor and of an associated speed-reducing transmission on a rigid, unitary base plate carrying all other movable elements of the mechanism and directly fastened to the window supporting structure of the vehicle, such as a door.

While such an arrangement has been used successfully in many instances, it has been found that the forces transmitted between the motor and the driven elements on the base plate can cause vibration of the motor casing and also of the transmission casing relative to the base plate under unfavorable conditions, and that such vibrations and the resulting noise cannot readily be damped by devices that can be fitted in the very limited space available within the door of a motorcar.

This invention aims at improving the earlier invention, and particularly to avoid vibrations in the window lifting mechanism which, may cause inconvenience to the user and may ultimately reduce the useful life of the mechanism.

With this object and others in view, as will presently become apparent, the improved window lifting mechanism of this invention has a base plate which constitutes a unitary piece of rigid material with a housing and pivotally supports a window lifting arm. The housing is formed with an opening dimensioned for passage of an electric motor and a speed-reducing transmission drivingly connected to the motor into the cavity of the housing. A cover closes the opening, and a motiontransmitting train connects the arm to the transmission for pivoting the arm when the motor is operated.

The housing cavity is preferably divided into separate compartments for the motor and the transmission by a partition wall of which a first portion is an integral part of the aforementioned unitary piece of rigid material, while a second portion of the wall is carried by the cover, and a bearing interposed between the two portions of the partition wall receives the input shaft of the transmission which is drivingly connected to the motor.

A worm fixed on the input shaft may engage a worm wheel of the transmission, and the input shaft may further be journaled in another bearing coaxial with the bearing in the partition wall, the two bearings being offset from the worm in opposite axial directions. The worm and the input shaft of the transmission preferably constitute another piece of rigid material jointly with the output shaft of the motor.

The motion-transmitting train which connects the speed-reducing transmission to the window lifting arm may consist of a segment gear fixedly fastened to the arm and a pinion attached to the worm wheel for joint rotation and meshingly engaging the pinion.

Other features, additional objects, and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will readily be appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in connection with the appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows an electric lifting mechanism for a window of an automotive vehicle in fragmentary side elevation;

FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1 in top plan view; and

FIG. 3 is afragmentary elevational view of the same device with partly removed housing to reveal internal elements.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is seen that all movable elements of the mechanism are mounted on a base plate 1 which is a unitary piece of diecast zinc alloy. Three openings 2 in respective marginal portions of the base plate 1 are bounded by integral, raised rims of the plate which merge with a raised rim 3 extending over substantially the entire circumference of the plate 1, though varying in width and height. Stiffening ribs are provided in those portions of the plate 1 which are subjected to highest stresses during operation of the apparatus, re-

spective ribs 4 diverging angularly from the rim 3 or the raised rim of an opening 2. Bolts 5 normally pass through the openings 2 for attaching the base plate 1 to the door of an automotive vehicle.

A segment gear 6 is pivotally mounted on the base plate 1 by means of a pivot pin 7 which passes from the gear 6 through the plate 1 at right angles to the principal plane of the plate. The free end of the pin 7 remote from the gear 6 is slotted at right angles to its axis, and the slot 8 receives the inner end of a spiral spring 9, the outer end of the spiral spring being hooked over a stud 10 projecting from the base plate 1. A window lifting arm 11 is fixedly fastened to the segment gear 6 and is biased by the spring 9 toward lifting a window associated with the arm 11 in a known manner, thereby compensating for at least a portion of the window weight.

The joint movement of the segment gear 6 and of the lifting arm 11 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, is limited by an abutment portion 12 of the rim 3 which is enlarged in width for greater strength and also in height at right angles to theprincipal plane of the plate 1 so as to project into the path of the arm 11, as is best seen in FIG. 2. Counterclockwise movement of the arm 11 is limited by another reinforced portion 13 of the rim 3 which is outside the path of the arm 11 itself, but can be engaged by an abutment 14. A clamping screw fixed on the abutment l4 and passing through a longitudinal slot of the arm 11 permits the longitudinal position of the abutment 14 on the arm 11 to be shifted and the abutment 14 to be firmly secured in each of its several longitudinal positions. An approximately spherically arcuate face 15 on the abutment l4 strikes the rim portion 13 in the position of the lever 11 drawn in FIG. 1 in full lines, and this limiting position may be adjusted by shifting the abutment 14 on the arm 1 1.

The segment gear 6 may be turned by elements more fully illustrated in FIG. 3 and omitted from FIGSJ and 2 for the sake of clarity. They include a reversible electric motor 30 and a gear transmission whose input shaft is constituted by the extended output shaft 31 of the motor 30. An integral housing portion 16 of the base plate 1 is offset in a transverse direction away from. the segment gear 6 from the principal plane of the plate 1 and is open toward the segment gear. Its cavity provides a compartment 18 for the motor 30 and a compartment 19 for the transmission which are partly separated by a partition wall 17 integral with the base plate 1. The opening of the housing portion 16 is normally closed by a flat cover 20 carrying a partition wall 21 which, in the installed condition of the cover 20, lies in a common plane with the partition wall 17 and abuttingly engages the same.

Respective portions of the two partition walls 17, 21 jointly constitute the shell of a bearing 22 for the aforementioned output shaft 31 of the motor 30, and ribs 23 radiating from the bearing 22 in opposite directions reinforce the walls 17, 21. A bearing 24 coaxial with the bearing 22 is provided in the wall of the housing 16 in the transmission compartment 19, and receives the free end of the transmission input or motor output shaft 31. Ribs 25 radial relative to the axis of the bearing 24 reinforce the wall of the housing 16.

Main bearings 27, 26 in the cover 20 and in an upright wall of the housing 16 opposite the cover 201eceive the common shaft 34 of a worm wheel 33 and of a pinion 35. The worm wheel 33 meshes in the compartment 19 with a worm 32 integral with the transmission shaft 31, and the pinion 35 meshes with the toothed rim of the segment gear 6. Rotation of the common shaft 31 of the motor and the transmission under the driving force of the electric motor 30 thus causes the window lifting arm 11 to move angularly between its limiting positions, substantially as shown in fully drawn and broken lines respectively in FIG. 1.

The bearing 26 transmits the highest stresses tothe base plate 1 and is reinforced, therefore, by radial ribs 28 in the upright housing wall which are heavier than any of the ribs referred to hereinabove. The openings 2 are located for distributing the operating stresses of the window lifting mechanism approximately uniformly to the three associated bolts and the corresponding portions of the non-illustrated vehicle door. They are located at the corners of a triangle in the principal plane of the plate 1 respectively adjacent the pivot pin 7, the transmission compartment 19 and the motor compartment 18.

While the window lifting mechanism has been described with reference to a window mounted on a door of a motor vehicle, the nature of the vehicle part supporting the window is not relevant to this invention, and it is equally applicable to electrically operated windows in the tail gate of a station wagon or in a fixed portion of the vehicle body where the space is limited to require a lifting mechanism of the type described.

Zinc diecasting alloy is the preferred, rigid material of construction for the unitary body constituted by the base plate 1, the housing 16, and the portion 17 of the partition wall which separates the motor compartment 18 from the transmission compartment 19. However, magnesium and aluminum castings may be resorted to where weight is of importance, and reinforced plastics have been used experimentally with some success. The cover preferably consists of the same material as the housing 16 and is held in position by a press fit so that it may be released by means of a screwdriver or like tool.

The unitary motor-output and transmission-input shaft is preferably a single piece of alloy steel in which the flights of the worm 32 were machined. The cooperating worm wheel may consist of nylon which is also useful for making the pinion 35. The materials of construction otherwise employed are less important.

The control circuit for the motor 30 has not been illustratecl nor described in detail since it is not directly relevant to this invention and may be entirely conventional. It may include limit switches cooperating with the illustrated abutments for deenergizing the motor 30 when the associated, non-illustrated window reaches the fully open or fully closed position.

While a worm gear is preferred, the nature of the speed-reducing transmission coupled to the motor 30 is not in itself critical, and other transmissions will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

It should be understood, therefore, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l. A window lifting mechanism for an automotive vehicle comprising:

a. a base plate extending in a principal plane;

b. fastening means for fastening said base plate to a window support of said vehicle;

c. a housing offset from said plane in one transverse direction, 1. said base plate and said housing jointly constituting a unitary piece of substantially rigid material,

2. said housing bounding a cavity therein and including a first portion of a partition wall separating said cavity into a motor compartment and a transmission compartment;

d. an electric motor mounted in said motor compartment and having a drive shaft;

e. a speed-reducing transmission in said transmission compartment,

1. said housing being formed with an opening dimensioned for passage of said motor and of said transmission into and out of said compartments respectively;

f. a cover member releasably closing said opening and including a second portion of said partition wall,

I. said portions abuttingly engaging each other and jointly constituting the shell of a first bearing interposed between said portions,

2. said housing carrying a second bearing in said transmission compartment, said drive shaft being journaled in said first and second bearings and constituting the input shaft of said transmission,

3. said housing and said cover further carrying two coaxial main bearings respectively, I

4. said transmission including an output shaft journaled in said main bearings;

g. a window lifting arm pivotally mounted on said base plate and offset from said principal plane in the other transverse direction; and

h. motion transmitting means connecting said arm to said transmission and including a segment gear fixedly fastened to said arm and a pinion attached to said output shaft and meshingly engaging said segment gear, said transmission further including 3. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, further comprising reinforcing ribs radially extending from each of said bearings on said partition wall, said housing, and said cover member respectively.

4. A mechanism as set forth in claim 3, wherein said substantially rigid material is a zinc diecasting alloy.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,851,533 December 3, 1974 lnv n fl BERNHARD DEHLER It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, line [3 97, after "June 28, 1971 Germany 2132067" insert August 9; 1972 Germany P 22 39 256.9

Signed and seeied this 21st day o f January 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer w Commissioner of Patents F ORM PO-105O (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1 I969 o-zse-au. 

1. A window lifting mechanism for an automotive vehicle comprising: a. a base plate extending in a principal plane; b. fastening means for fastening said base plate to a window support of said vehicle; c. a housing offset from said plane in one transverse direction,
 1. said base plate and said housing jointly constituting a unitary piece of substantially rigid material,
 2. said housing bounding a cavity therein and including a first portion of a partition wall separating said cavity into a motor compartment and a transmission compartment; d. an electric motor mounted in said motor compartment and having a drive shaft; e. a speed-reducing transmission in said transmission compartment,
 1. said housing being formed with an opening dimensioned for passage of said motor and of said transmission into and out of said compartments respectively; f. a cover member releasably closing said opening and including a second portion of said partition wall,
 1. said portions abuttingly engaging each other and jointly constituting the shell of a first bearing interposed between said portions,
 2. said housing carrying a second bearing in said transmission compartment, said drive shaft being journaled in said first and second bearings and constituting the input shaft of said transmission,
 3. said housing and said cover further carrying two coaxial main bearings respectively,
 4. said transmission including an output shaft journaled in said main bearings; g. a window lifting arm pivotally mounted on said base plate and offset from said principal plane in the other transverse direction; and h. motion transmitting means connecting said arm to said transmission and including a segment gear fixedly fastened to said arm and a pinion attached to said output shaft and meshingly engaging said segment gear, said transmission further including
 1. a worm fixed on said input shaft intermediate said first and second bearings, and
 2. a worm wheel mounted on said output shaft and meshing with said worm.
 2. said housing bounding a cavity therein and including a first portion of a partition wall separating said cavity into a motor compartment and a transmission compartment; d. an electric motor mounted in said motor compartment and having a drive shaft; e. a speed-reducing transmission in said transmission compartment,
 2. said housing carrying a second bearing in said transmission compartment, said drive shaft being journaled in said first and second bearings and constituting the input shaft of said transmission,
 2. a worm wheel mounted on said output shaft and meshing with said worm.
 2. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, wherein said drive shaft, and said worm jointly constitute another piece of substantially rigid material.
 3. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, further comprising reinforcing ribs radially extending from each of said bearings on said partition wall, said housing, and said cover member respectively.
 3. said housing and said cover further carrying two coaxial main bearings respectively,
 4. said transmission including an output shaft journaled in said main bearings; g. a window lifting arm pivotally mounted on said base plate and offset from said principal plane in the other transverse direction; and h. motion transmitting means connecting said arm to said transmission and including a segment gear fixedly fastened to said arm and a pinion attached to said output shaft and meshingly engaging said segment gear, said transmission further including
 4. A mechanism as set forth in claim 3, wherein said substantially rigid material is a zinc diecasting alloy. 